"...the knowing animals are aware that we are not really at home in our interpreted world." - R.M. Rilke
April 29, 2009
Swine Flu Fever
April 27, 2009
April 26, 2009
Forever a Golden Girl
April 24, 2009
Bigotry in a Can
· "When you hear "human rights," think only one thing: someone who wants to rape your son. And you'll get it just right. OK, you got it, right? When you hear "human rights," think only someone who wants to molest your son, and send you to jail if you defend him. Write that down, make a note of it."
· "...children's minds are being raped by the homosexual mafia, that's my position. They're raping our children's minds."
· "You know what autism is? I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is."
Disgusting, right? Michael Savage is reaping profits from the selling of Rockstar Energy Drink.
How about some facts about Savage's son, Russell Weiner?
· Fact #1: At a Rockstar-sponsored concert at Concord Pavillion in 2004, Russell Weiner warmed up the crowd by chanting "Who's heterosexual and proud? If you're not, hopefully you will be soon."
· Fact #2: Russell Weiner co-founded the conservative Paul Revere Society (with his father). In 2006, the organization had its tax-exempt status revoked.
· Fact #3: Among the positions championed by the Paul Revere Society, and presumably by Russell Weiner? (1) Support for traditional marriage only; (2) deportation of all illegal immigrants; (3) eliminating bilingual education in all states; (4) requiring health tests for all foreign born people; (5) ending affirmative action; (6) closing off the borders; and (7) make tax cuts permanent and end class action lawsuits.
Russell Weiner, as CEO of Rockstar, makes a boatload of money off the beverage.
Do you like your money going to a family that champions hate? Do you want your money going to a man who says that autism is a made up disease? To a man who says that all LGBT people are sodomites who deserve to get AIDS?
If the answer is no, then don't buy Rockstar Energy Drink. And if you see a club - especially an LGBT club - serving it, please say something to the management.
If you want more information, check out thetruthaboutrockstar.com. The site isn't updated terribly frequently, but it has some basic information about the sordid story of the family that makes millions off of Rockstar Energy Drink.
April 23, 2009
With sadness and tears...
Two of the top three reasons students said their peers were most often bullied at school were actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender expression, according to "From Teasing to Torment: School Climate in America", a 2005 report by GLSEN and Harris Interactive. The top reason was physical appearance.
"As was the case with Carl, you do not have to identify as gay to be attacked with anti-LGBT language," Byard said. "From their earliest years on the school playground, students learn to use anti-LGBT language as the ultimate weapon to degrade their peers. In many cases, schools and teachers either ignore the behavior or don’t know how to intervene."
Nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT youth (86.2%) reported being verbally harassed at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation, nearly half (44.1%) reported being physically harassed and about a quarter (22.1%) reported being physically assaulted, according to GLSEN’s 2007 National School Climate Survey of more than 6,000 LGBT students.
Regardless of your views on LGBT people, this is unacceptable and horribly tragic. There is no moral, religious, or ethical argument that can condone the bullying of children by other children for perceived differences. Ignorance and bigotry are taught and passed down to children. We destroy the meaning of family when we teach that others are less deserving of our respect, and less deserving of equal standing in our community.
Degrees of Success
Therefore, the earnings gap was 33% between the bachelor's and master's degree, and 29% between a bachelor's and a college degree. But it was only 8% between the master's and doctorate levels.
However, while earnings generally increased by level of study, there were large distributions of annual earnings within each education level. Thus, some college graduates earned more than many bachelor's graduates. For example, 25% of college graduates earned $44,300 or more annually, while 50% of bachelor's graduates earned $45,000 or less.
Some 46% of all 2005 bachelor's graduates completed their studies free of debt, as did 56% of doctorates, 55% of college grads and 54% of those with a master's. Of the balance of graduates with student debt, the average debt amounts were $22,500 for doctorate graduates, $20,400 for bachelor's graduates, $19,500 for master's graduates, and $11,800 for college graduates. StatsCan found that average debt levels for 2005 grads were lower than those of the 2000 college and university graduates.
Conclusions: Whatever the individual's particular interests may be it is clear some some form of post-secondary education has long-term financial benefits that outweigh all initial costs, including the accrual of debt. In addition the federal government provides healthy tuition tax credits that can be applied against one's income tax which, ultimately, lowers the actual cost of education. However. many students find themselves pressured to enrol in programs for which they are a poor fit, and their maturity level and commitment are not yet at the level required to position them for success. We need to equally value the array of postsecondary options at both the college and university levels. While I firmly believe in the instrinsic value of higher education I also think it does not detract from the purpose of education to also claim that higher education is also a very worthwhile investment.
April 22, 2009
Tempest in a Tea Bag
April 15, 2009
Another Publication!
Kingston Landmark to Close
April 14, 2009
April 10, 2009
1984 Revisited
April 9, 2009
With the lights out
April 7, 2009
Wanted: Ordinary Canadians
Ordinary people
No matter what we stand for,
All in all, we're all the same
And it don't matter